The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Mohammed Ali Pate has said improving healthcare calls for collective effort among federal, state and local government; the private sector and civil society organisation.

Pate, who spoke at the third edition of a public health programme organised by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Sustainable Conversations with the theme Public health: tackling the challenges for effective service delivery, said the government could not do it alone, but needed others to give health care the needed boost.

Pate identified the execution of plans as a major challenge of health care delivery system. “We make lots of plans for the health sector but fail to execute them. This problem can be solved by education and change of the mind set,” he added.

He said many death cases could have been prevented if the victims were well-informed on what to do. “The federal government launched save a million lives in Abuja on October 16 this year. This initiative provides basic life saving commodities such as contraceptives, rehydration solution and zinc for diarrhea and magnesium sulphate to reduce pregnancy complications, among others.

He urged medical professionals to be more transparent in the discharge of their duties. The private sector should come up with quality hospitals that would be of good standards like those in advanced countries where Nigerians run to access quality health care.

Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Dr Jide Idris identified shortage of personnel, space and attitude of health workers as some of the challenges to quality health care delivery.

He said clean environment and a good life style will go a long way to improve the quality of life.

The Editor, Nigeria Health Waste Consultant in Public Health Waste, Ike Anya said no fewer than 150 million people are in Nigeria with 52 per cent of the population in the rural areas.

He said women of child bearing age are 22 per cent of the population while children below the age of five constitute 20 per cent. He added that children under 15 years of age account for 42 per cent of the population.

“It is so unfortunate that in Nigeria, the normal life expectancy is 47 years at most 53 years. There is high infant mortality rate; one out of seven children dies before first birthday. There is also high maternal mortality rate 545 / 100 000, and Nigeria is one of highest in the world. It also has the second highest number of HIV infected persons in Africa,” he added.

According to him, there are low child immunisation rates and Nigeria is second on WHO weighted scale of countries with very high road traffic accidents.

“Large differences exist between infant and child mortality rates in different socio-economic groups and geopolitical zones; poor children, children living in rural areas and those living in the north are more likely to die before their fifth birthday than richer, urban, southern children. This is due to the level of poverty that exist in the country,” he said.

He said data from National Health Accounts 2003 and paths 2 shows that two-third of health expenditure is paid by households “Three per cent by firms, four per cent by development partners, seven per cent by the federal government , seven per cent by state government and five per cent by the local governments. This statistics shows that households pay more for health bills in Nigeria,” he added.

He said the private sector health care provision plays a major role for the rich and the poor in getting health care.

On the way forward, Anya said, education, nutrition, sanitation, safe water and employment aret needed, but identified inaccess to care as a major problem because there are no facilities nearby, where there are facilities. “They are not affordable and where they have access and can pay, quality of care is poor because of lack of staff, lack of knowledge and skills, professional attitude and motivation, lack of drugs, equipment and electricity.

the house that divide against itself can never stand,for govt. to attract others to partner with her in the health sector all the agent of division in the federal ministry of health starting from the chief protagonist prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu has to go first because since he became the minister of health the federal workers have never enjoyed any healthy relationship among themselves he has been more of the minister for doctors than the minister of health,many Medical directors loyal to him have capitalised on the partial nature of this man to oppress their staff,deny them of their promotion,and subject them to double pension deduction.COME TO NATIONAL ORTHOPAEDIC HOSP. ENUGU FOR A CASE STUDY.i ask what is oga GEJ waiting for to wean the dead woods in the govt?